Commercially available coverings, for example, those of ceramics such as pottery, vitrified clay, fine ground clay, or of plastic, metal, or glass, are highly resistant, durable, and are available in a variety of shapes, colours, and designs. Because of their outstanding properties and shaping aspects it is customary to install coatings or coverings of this kind on the walls and floors of bathrooms, sanitary facilities, and living areas. These properties constitute the reason why such materials are preferred for new constructions and when renovating one's own home.
The situation is completely different in the case of rented accommodation and hotels. Because of the strength and the durability of the coverings, as well as the adhesion of the mortar or cement that is used, the old coverings must be laboriously chiselled off by hand or by using electric or pneumatic chisels when, as a rule, the covering is destroyed. The disadvantages in this are obvious: high costs and the considerable amounts of time and labour that are involved in removing the covering; the dust, dirt, and noise that are generated; the possibility of damage being done to the surface behind the covering; the associated costly refinishing that has be undertaken in order to install a new covering; and the waiting period between preparatory work and the start of the reinstallation, i.e., long total time for the renovation.
Increasing consumer interest in up-to-date fashion trends and design, and ever-shorter modernization cycles and demands for renovation make constant updating and broadening of selection essential, and demand practical systems that can be removed and replaced without difficulty.
Dry-installation systems were developed; in these, the tiles were cemented to a frame that had lugs on its sides, and these lugs snapped into corresponding parts of the adjacent elements. When this was done, nothing was cemented or screwed down to the underlying surface, so that the noise of footsteps became an annoyance. Walls cannot be tiled using this system. In addition, this system is relatively costly and inflexible with regard to available designs and shapes, as well as with regard to possible installation surfaces. It is also questionable whether such systems are sufficiently resistant to water and damp to permit their use in bathrooms (see M. Henke, Fliesen und Platten [Tiles and Panels], p. 72, No. 6, 2002).
The Mapetex System, developed by Mapei GmbH is based on a completely different system. In this system, a special non-woven fabric of polyester fibres is first applied to the underlayment. In order to affix this, a self-adhesive burr strip is cemented onto the cleaned subsurface. In the case of a wall installation, a number of adhesive strips are applied at specific intervals; as the weight of the tiles increases, the spacing between the strips must be made smaller. The non-woven fabric is applied to these strips, and the tiles are installed on this fabric. One important shortcoming of this type of construction is inadequate adhesion between the subsurface and the fabric; in the event of excessive loading, vibration, or stress cracking, this could result in the failure of the complete construction. The complicated method whereby the tiles are applied is made additionally difficult by the fact that cleanliness is paramount when the tiles are applied since any dirt, dust, or the like will degrade the adhesive effect of the adhesive strip between the wall and the fabric, so that there is insufficient adhesion. Because of the relatively poor bond between the subsurface and the tiles, sooner or later water will get through cracks or joints in tiled surfaces in the bath area, for example, in wet traps, and this will result in the growth of mould (W. Mauer, Op. Cit, p. 24, Vol. 4, 2001).
For this reason, it is the objective of the present invention to describe an hydraulic fixing agent and method by which a bonded layer of fixing agent—which optionally has a covering layer—can be applied without difficulty in the usual manner but which can be removed very simply at any time, for example after a number of years. When removed, the disadvantages inherent in the prior art should not be encountered, i.e., there should be no dust, no noise, and a significant reduction in renovation times.